יום שישי, ד׳ תמוז תשפ״וFriday, June 19, 2026
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Ana Mandelbaum is the principal of Zucker Jewish Academy of Five Towns. She holds degrees in psychology, education and school leadership and is a doctoral candidate in school policy.
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It is certainly harder in the heat of summer, but it makes it even more meaningful to make a kiddush Hashem when people know how dedicated you are to Judaism.
It wasn’t until my husband and I began building a real relationship with our shul’s rabbi that I began to understand the depth of the word rav.
My hope is that our students see in their teachers not unattainable angels, but human beings reaching upwards – and that they too will be moved to live in an angelic way, lifting themselves and those around them closer to Hashem.
We don’t have to wait until we feel inspired to reach for Hashem. We reach out because we feel dry, empty, arid. That’s the moment of connection – not after the storm, but during the drought.
The Torah’s commandment to remember is about shaping the future. The Holocaust and October 7 teach us that the world can change in an instant – and that if we don’t take history seriously, it will repeat itself.
It is when I look out the window at all of the other menorahs do I find comfort that Judaism is alive, well, and flourishing and that our pride does not need to be hidden but rather, celebrated.
When we open our homes, we create an atmosphere that elevates not just the meal but the entire spiritual experience.
Crying is a powerful tool. It is an emotion that Hashem gave us to elevate pain, happiness, sadness, tefillos. May we all be zoche to have our tefillos answered.
Next time you are about to act, whether it be a kiddush or (chas v’shalom) a chillul Hashem, remember who you are, a morah.
Shtreimel signifies pride in Judaism and in traditions. It’s pride in connecting our current to our past.
I overheard my daughter in the kitchen last week offering our contractors food and drinks from where she planned to order lunch. She was thrilled to report that they took her up on her offer and she could do a mitzvah.
As a frum Jewish educator, I am acutely aware of the thousands of “Yitzchaks” in our care. Each child a guarantor of Hashem’s promise to make Avraham Avinu, and by extension all Jews, into a great nation.
